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Need help please!

My LO is 2 weeks and 3 days old and we are struggling with breastfeeding. She was born 6lbs 11oz. Her lowest was 6lbs 4oz. At her 2 week appointment she was 6lbs 15oz. She has plenty of wet diapers a day, but her poopy diapers tend to be really small and green. Most of them are pea sized. She probably has 3 of these a day and sometimes a bigger one. Since the beginning I've had a hard time getting her to stay awake during feedings. I try everything (tickling her, undressing her, rubbing her cheek, rubbing under chin, putting something cold on her, talking to her, and etc.). Most of the time she will eat pretty well for the first 10 mins. Sometimes even 15. But her pediatrician says that she should eat for 20-30 mins to make sure she gets the hindmilk. Since her poops are green it seems like she is not getting enough of it. Yesterday, I tried pumping and she scarfed down 4oz every 3 hours or so and she started pooping more and her poops have started to turn yellow green. Pumping is too exhausting for me to do around the clock so I really want to get her back on the breast. I have fed her a few times from the breast and she latches on fine still, but she just wont eat for long. Any suggestions? Is this normal? I know she is growing since she was past birthweight at 2 weeks, but Im worried that she's not getting enough still.

Re: Need help please!

I know that you don't get as much when you pump as babies can get, but when I pump I get around 2oz from each breast. She never takes both breasts and doesn't even seem to empty one. So I'm assuming shes only getting 2oz or less each feeding, but when she drinks from a bottle she will take 4.

Re: Need help please!

But that is because she doesn't have to do the work that you need to to get the milk from the breast. Which you WANT her to do. The bottle is dripping milk into her mouth. All she has to do is swallow. And she HAS to or she will choke. You should NOT bottle feed her because you don't want her to prefer the bottle and she will. You want her to do the work. The latching the sucking, all of it. Newborns aren't born knowing how to nurse. They need to practice to get good at it. She has only been at for 17days. Give her some time. Some of it will work itself out as she gets stronger and bigger. But most newborns also don't NEED 4oz in a session. Because if she is nursing 10-12 times in a 24hour period (And she should be) 2oz a feeding is fine. Relax. And step AWAY from the pump and the bottles. Extra work for no reason. Do no do it.

Re: Need help please!

Since your baby is still very young, is sleepy, and is generally having such small, green poops, I think I'd take the precaution of taking her back to the pediatrician and have her re-weighed fairly soon. Maybe in a couple days, perhaps as long as a week? And meanwhile, I would watch diaper output really carefully, keep a careful log, and do everything you can to make sure that your baby stays alert and active at the breast, takes both breasts, and nurses at least 10-12 times a day.

The PP's advice on bottles and pumping is good. You don't want to get into all that unless it's necessary. It just makes more work for you, messes with your baby's latch (potentially), gets you into a mindset where you're always measuring your pump output and your baby's bottle intake against each other... (And babies almost always take more from the bottle than they do from the breast, due to the mechanics of bottle feeding.)

The pediatrician's advice on the time your baby "should" be spending at the breast is silly. Feeding speed varies widely, even with newborns. Some can get all they need in just 5-10 minutes, others require closer to an hour. Your baby may be able to get her needs met in just 10-15 minutes.

One thing that can really help with sleepy babies is something called switch nursing. When baby starts to fall asleep at the breast, transitioning from active nursing to shallow, fluttery "comfort" suckling, you remove her from the breast, change her diaper or burp her, and switch her to the other side. You repeat the process as many times as necessary, until the baby will no longer wake. You probably want to combine this with breast compressions, to speed milk flow to the baby.

Useful link on diaper output: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supp...s/enough-milk/ Note the part about the stools- kellymom says you're looking for at least 3-4 per day, around the size of a US quarter (2.5 cm) or larger. Based on that, your LO's output seems a little low.